Photo by kkmarais.
It’s a feeling most of us know, even world travelers. We’re in a new place, hearing a new language, trying to figure out the public transportation system between visits to the ATM, souvenir shopping, church peeping, and all we really want is a relaxing place to drink a...

Photo by magoexperto.
If you’re a skateboarder yourself, or just looking for a place to see some (mostly young) locals doing what locals do, the people watching could not be better than at a skate park. It’s a reasonably small community, and most of the skaters at each particular...

The view from Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago, Chile.
Photo by David Berkowitz.
Cerro San Cristobal is one of two iconic hills from which you can get a good aerial view of Santiago, Chile. It has two main access points, with the bulk of people going up on the Pio Nono (Bellavista) side on Saturdays...

You can also catch a folkloric show in Pomaire.
Photo: Pedro Villavicencio.
Santiago has quite a lot to offer, but it’s hard to get to know Chile, precisely, when you’re within the city. For a close-by look into more of the huaso (Chilean cowboy) culture, as well as a chance to buy low-priced,...

Photo: rodri_gop.
A fun part of many people’s trip is thinking about what to bring home for those who you left behind. While it’s nice to send a postcard, there’s also a certain satisfaction in bringing out a souvenir you picked up on the road, and tell the story behind it. Where you...

Photo: La Bicicleta Verde
If you’re coming to Santiago, everyone will tell you to go to the central market to have lunch. Fair enough. It’s tourist-friendly (and tourist-priced), you get to sit in a large, bustling pretend market and possibly have an accordion player amble through...

Still from the movie Violeta Se Fue a Los CielosVioleta Se Fue a Los Cielos, a movie about the life of Violeta Parra, one of Chile’s great folk heroes has made a big splash at the Sundance festival, winning the World Cinema Jury Prize.
Violeta Parra was a Chilean painter, potter, embroiderer, sculptor...

Photo by avodrocc on Flickr.
For a quick escape from Santiago, everyone will tell you to go to a winery and the coast (unless they’re telling you to go to the mountains, in which case, here’s an idea). But which winery, or at least which wine valley, and which beach?
As it happens,...

The Torres side of the park is still open to visitors.
Photo by john_vorhees on Flickr.
Since a hiker-caused wildfire broke out in Torres del Paine in late December, 2011, some tourists have put their visits to the park on hold, because they weren’t sure just what they’d encounter. However,...